Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports and Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Sean Payton wants the Broncos to emulate his protégé Dan Campbell's Lions

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Mike Payton | Last updated 11/29/23

The mentor protégé relationship is a big thing in the NFL. Coaching tree's are vast and seem to be everlasting. The Bill Parcels coaching tree is gigantic. Sean Payton is a part of that coaching tree and by his extension, Dan Campbell is too.

Campbell played for the Cowboys while Payton was the teams assistant head coach and Parcells was the head coach. Campbell made a big impact on both of those guys. So much so that when Payton became a head coach in New Orleans, he went out and got Dan Campbell to play for him there. That unfortunately never happened due to an injury and Campbell missed out on winning a Super Bowl that season.

The relationship didn't end there. After Parcells got Campbell into coaching with the Dolphins, Sean Payton hired Campbell to be a part of his staff in New Orleans. Campbell has always regarded Payton as a mentor to him in the coaching world.

These days it's the protégé that is having much success in the coaching world. Dan Campbell's Lions are 8-3 and they're 16-5 in their last 21 games. Sean Payton is looking for his Bronco's to emulate that. More specifically, he's look for the Broncos to have the type of the season the 2022 Lions had.

#Broncos HC Sean Payton was asked on October 18, when they were 1-5, what his message to the locker room was.

He said they need to get inspiration from the #Lions, who started 1-6 last year and then turned it around.

Since Payton said that, Denver has won 5 in a row and are now… pic.twitter.com/TJhKAwpEGT
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 28, 2023

The Broncos are very much playing the same part that the Lions were playing last year. They had a very tough start to their season, including a game in which they allowed 70 points to the Dolphins. The whole Payton era looked like a lost cause in Denver for a bit there.

Nowadays the Broncos are a completely different team. They've won five in a row and they did it against some really tough teams including the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Bills and a tough Brown's defense.

Can the Broncos keep it going? They have two tougher games in a row with the rising Texans and that tough Chargers offense. Then in Week 15 we'll get a big matchup when the mentor takes on the protégé. Dan Campbell's Lions will welcome Sean Payton's Broncos into town and these two will face off for the first time. This should be must watch TV.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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